leisure & libation
Carolina Axe website, Donoghue, “as a patron and participant of backyard parties, good times, and festivals in and around Asheville, came up with an idea one day while fishing with his friends.”
“The mental and physical components combine to allow it to be a great form of stress therapy.” No word if that fishing expedition also involved spearing fish with hatchets and axes, but the venture apparently proved popular. The company’s Facebook page, for example, has a number of sharp videos that go a long way towards highlighting the appeal of axe throwing.
On the Cutting Edge Husband and wife team Jeff and Hope Grier opened Timber Axe Throwing in Hendersonville in July of 2019. They already owned the property and were trying to decide what to do with it. “My husband, Jeff, saw how axe throwing was becoming more and more popular in the United States and thought, ‘Why not here?’” says Hope. “We are locals, raised here in Hendersonville, and there really has never been that much to do as far as activity/ recreation. We thought this would be a fun, new thing to bring to our small town.” The Griers have seen some apprehension regarding axe throwing. For some viewing the sport from the outside, there are probably fears about the overall safety factor. It has taken time for people to warm up to it and come try it. But watching someone go from being apprehensive and unsure about it to falling in love with 66
| March 2020